Single person, London, living on £80.00 per month - possible?

she_who_can_not_cook

Using chappati flour in my bread maker, a loaf of bread costs me approximately 25p.[/QUOTE]
can i ask about chap flour do you use more yeast, i meandoes it raise well ???

Popperwell

I'm sure someone will help you with your question but put chapati recipe into a search engine and you'll get a lot of ideas...good luck!!

Julimk

It is absolutely possible. My budget for 2, me & DD (teenager, so to all intents & purposes 2 adults) is £160 a month & usually about £140. This is not just a survival diet, we eat very well on this, eg most months we have a steak dinner.

Shame that you don’t have any shops nearby, as you really can get some bargains in the reduced to clear (aka ‘whoopsies’ after the Asda labels that say ‘whoops’ or YS [yellow sticker], as that is usually the colour of the reduced label).

Are there any near work? Or on the way home? When I am in the office I do a roughly 7 – 7 day too (though I am lucky enough to be able to work from home some of the time), but there is a Tesco just outside the office that need to pass to get to the DLR station & reduces from 2pm, and I then pass another Tesco, a Morrison & a Sainsbury before I get home.

For freezing I use Tesco value tubs, little square ones that hold about 500ml. Looking on the Asda website, these are probably the same as the SP 3 for £1.15, though difficult to tell for certain from the limited information available. As they are all the same size they stack very well in the freezer. Then, when frozen, will pop out as large food ice cubes, double bag & label & take up even less space.

Batch cooking at the weekend & freezing individual portions has worked for me for years now. Only needs 2-3 hours every 2-3 months, not every week, especially once you have built up a stash. I batch cooked this weekend & last because DD has been with her Dad, so I had a little extra time, as Mum’s taxi was not in demand.

Last weekend I made fish stew, fish curry & a couple of different pasta sauces (a pork one & a tuna one). This weekend I cooked up a large batch of mince & onions, which I then took 3 ways to make lasagne, cottage pie & chilli con carne. Also did some chicken stir-fry. I usually only use the slow cooked as part of a batch cook day, eg stick everything for a stew in there first, do the other things & then the stew is ready later. I would be reluctant to leave it on while I was out too.

Generally, things that freeze well are those with a lot of sauce, so curries, stews etc. work best.

melanzana

Just a note, If you happen to have a small wheely suitcase, or wheely backpack, or even a shopping trolley (they are SOOOO cool now with all the bright colours) you could cart back all the great value stuff from the markets nearby.

Just think, you will be so Green too, no emissions!

I do this all the time, it is amazing the weight of stuff you can easily wheel back. It's painless, and I feel so smug too cos I don't waste petrol money either!

Ok you might have to take the bus, but honestly, if you did a bulk shop at the market say every fortnight, (with your wheelie) you'd be quids in! And you save the delivery cost from the supermarket, which balances out the bus fare too.

Best of luck.

gettingready

Ok - thanks a lot for all posts. Had a longgggggggggggggggggggg day today as had to take my dog to Surrey (nearly 3 hours each way) for her 12 week post op check up (hip replacement she had).

Got back home and pretty much collapsed...

Carrying heavy stuff on the buses - I had a quite serious surgery myself not that long ago so it is still not an option for a while.

TBH - I never thought about freezing fresh veggies so something to think about here.

No shops near enough work either - I have 30 min lunch (my choice to get outa bit earlier) and it takes 20 min each way to get to Sainsbury's there so not an option.

Being realistic, Asda home delivery once per month for hravy stuff and possible once per month to Walthamstow marker - will have to be Saturday though.

I have found a cheap kettle and cheap water filter in Argos, will get those tomorow and keep them at work just for myself. Together £11.00 but will get it back within 2 weks by not habving to buy bottled water and a lot of milk (as making my coffee with just milk now - due to water being so bad).

Did not get that book after all as opted for kettle/water filter.

Went into a pond shop in Hounslow today (yes, other side of London, was on the way back from the vets) and they did not have the containers I wanted... Hmmmm Will pop in to Leytonstone one at the weekend, they always have them there.

Thanks a lot again.

Popperwell

Remember you can make frozen veg go a long, long way and it can be as good and easy to use than fresh veg...I can make mine last ages...if you've given up on the book, have a look some of the sites on line and pop onto the charity shops...

gettingready

Will definitely go to Walthamstow market when I get paid and stock up on veggies there - chop/portion/freeze.

Actually - such a pity I get paid on the 28th when 27th is a BH


Will still get the book, just not right now.

And yes, I am well aware of Amazon Prime and it's costs - book was on normal free delivery though

Dippypud

she_who_can_not_cook wrote: »

Using chappati flour in my bread maker, a loaf of bread costs me approximately 25p.

can i ask about chap flour do you use more yeast, i meandoes it raise well ???[/QUOTE]

Found this, but it's not a 'proper' recipe...

2 tsps of yeast
2 cups of water
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/4 cup of butter or oil
3 cups of flour
a dash of salt
Sometimes, the loaves turned out, and sometimes they didn't.
If you find the loaves consistently falling flat, add some potato. If you have any leftover mashed potato around the house, add 1/2 cup to the bread recipe. Or 1/3 cup instant potato flakes. Or take a medium-sized potato and microwave it for 4-5 minutes and drop it in the bread pan. That generally does the trick.

This is the closest I got...

http://jugalbandi.info/2010/12/100-whole-wheat-bread-with-chapati-flour-atta/

PipneyJane

she_who_can_not_cook wrote: »

Using chappati flour in my bread maker, a loaf of bread costs me approximately 25p.

can i ask about chap flour do you use more yeast, i mean does it raise well ???[/QUOTE]

Yes, it does. Raises beautifully using 1 teaspoon of Doves Farm instant yeast. (Note: chappati flour is also called atta flour.)

I think we're currently using Elephant brand flour. The next batch, which we've decanted but I won't get to until at least October, is MrT's everyday value. Not sure if the brands make much difference. Both flours look like finely ground, wholemeal flour.

gettingready

Sorry but personally I am not at all interested in chapati flour/bread making from it so perhaps.....we could keep the posts relevant to topic? Otherwise it is very difficult to read...for answers to own question Thanks a lot